Apparatus for internally coating containers



Feb. 8, 1944. R E, FEARS 2,341,477

APPARATUS FOR INTERNALLY COATING CONTAINERS Filed April 10, 1942 6 Sheets-Sheet l 8B M G Wi/I 11% Feb. 8,1944. R E PEARSON 2,341,477

APPARATUS FOR INTERNALLY COATING CONTAINERS Filed April 10, 1942 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Y 6; i A 1 6 Y 5 I HUI I 29 I [India/T06 B @mwzW N O S R A E P E P APPARATUS- FOR INTERNALLY COATING CONTAINERS Filed April 10, 1942 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 llllll lllllll.

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APPARATUS FOR INTERNALLY COATING CONTAINERS Filed April 10, 1942 e Sheets-Sheet 4 F 8, 1944. P. E. PEARSON APPARATUS FQR INTERNALLY COATING CONTAINERS Filed April 10, 1942 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 v J E a w v w w Z 2 g MHWE h a .1 A 1 r/ 6 1 Feb. 8, 1944. PEARSON 2,341,477

APPARATUS FOR INTERNALLY COATING CONTAINERS Filed April 10, 1942 6-Sheets-Sheet 6 m C wt wlr firrop/wsvs Patented Feb. 8, 1944 APPARATUS FOR INTERNALLY COATING CONTAINERS Paul E. Pearson, Chicago, 111., assignor to Continental Can Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application April 10,- 1942, Serial No. 438,478

14 Claims.

The invention relates generallyto the art of coating, and primarily seeks'to provide a novel apparatus for spraying the insides of containers intended for the packaging of products for the market with a suitable protective coating materlal, or more specifically, to provide certain new and useful improvements in spraying machines of With the above and other objects in view which will more fully appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by following the description. the appended claims, and the the type disclosed by Paul E. Pearso'n-"in'the co-pendlng application for U. 8. Letters Patent Serial No. 225,040, filed on August 15, 1938.

Many products, such as beer. wine, carbonated several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front face view illustrating the machine.

water, grape juice, and cranberry juice, cannot be packagedin metal cans unless a protective coating or lining is employed to completely insulate the products from the metal of the cans. The invention, therefore, seeks to provide a simplified machine structure in which cans can be emclently and economically sprayed internally and thereby provided with a smooth and evenly distributed protective coating without likelihood of marring the applied coatings or can surfaces with coating drip. a

In its more detailed nature, the invention resides in the provision of a machine of the chal-ac ter stated in which is included a spray confining housingv or casing, a pocketed turret which is indexed, station-by-station, about a horizontal. axis within the housing, means for feeding contalners oneby-one into the turret, novel means for imparting rotation to containers in each pockoi. as it is presented at the bottom or spraying station, and spray means and novel actuating devices therefor for reciprocating the spray means into and out of the containers at the spray station, said machine also including. novel adiustable parts for adapting the'rnachine for the spraying 01' containers of different sizes.-

Another object ofthe invention is to provide a machine of the, characterstated, in which is included novel lover and cam actuating devices for impartingreciprocation tothe spraying means and including means for varying the stroke limits of the spray means reciprocation-s.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel machine structure of the character stated including a novel yieldably mounted disk for imparting rotation to the'container at the spraying station.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel machine structure of the character stated, in which is included a novel means for preventing operation of the spray when no container is present to be sprayed, said no container no spray me including the container driving disk as a part thereof.

" of the effective crest or dwell Figure 2 is a plan view of the machine, parts being broken away and others being shown in horizontal section.

Figure 3 is a vertical cross section taken on the line 3-8 on Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a vertical longitudinal section taken on the line H on Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a horizontal section taken on the line 5-5 on Figure 4, the turret and its housing being removed for purposes of clarity.

Figure 6 is a rear face view of the machine, the

"turret and its housing being removed for purposes of clarity.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary face view of the turret housing at the position of the delivery opening therein.

In the machine herein illustrated as an example of embodiment. there is included a base structure 5 upon which is supp r d a spraying mecha main cam shaft 1 which is rotatably supported in suitable bearings t. It will be observed by reference to Figure 4 of the drawings that both ends of the shaft 1 project from the housing structure 8.

A plate cam 9 is secured to one extended end of the shaft I and is equipped at its outer face with a generally heart-shaped actuator groove II which includes a concentric dwell portion ll extending about approximately An indexing cam I2 is longitudinally-adjustably secured, as at .18, on the shaft 1 within the housing structure 6, and this cam is a well known form of indexing cam and includes the usual indexing groove it. At its other extended end, the shaft 1 carries a spray control valve actuating cam structure generally designated II and comprising a driving disk It secured upon the end of the shaft and two cam plates H. which are adiustably secured to the disk, as at l8, and which include outwardly projected concentric dwell portions or crests II.

It will be obvious by reference to Figures 4 and 6 oi the drawings that by adjusting the plates l1 relatively about the axis of the shaft 1 the extent collectively by the individual crests is can be portion presentedbearing extension portion slidable ring 23. It will be obvious that rotation imparted to the worm wheel 2| will normally be transmitted to the shaft 1 through the overload release means, but upon imposition of an overload tending to hold the shaft 1 against rotation, the balls 22 will be displaced from their seats and the' worm wheel 2| permitted to rotate freely about the shaft.

A driver shaft 24 is rotatable in bearings 25 provided therefor in the housing structure 6, and this shaft carries a driver worm gear 26 which meshes with and imparts rotation to the previously mentioned worm wheel 2|. The shaft 24 is extended at both ends outside the housing structure 6. At one extended end the shaft 24 carries a large pulley 21 which is driven by a belt 28 from the driving pulley of the motor 28 which is adjustably supported, as at 30, on the housing structure.

The housing structure 8 is equipped with a 3| and a turret shaft 32 is rotatably supported in bearings 33 in said extension portion, one end of the shaft being extended into the housing structure 8 and the other end extending beyond the extremity of the extension portion ll in the manner best illustrated in Figures 3 and 5 of the drawings. Within the housing structure 4, the shaft 32 has affixed thereto an indexing disk 34 equipped with a plurality of equidistantly spaced rollers 35 which engage in the indexing groove l4 of the cam l2 so that the rotation of said cam will be transmitted in the form of station-to-station indexing movement to the turret shaft 32. It is to be understood that as many indexing rollers 35 are provided on the disk 34 as there are stations on the turret structure to be described hereinafter, there being six in this particular illustration.

At its extended end, the shaft 32 carries a turret disk 36 which is best illustrated in Figures 1 and 3 of the drawings and is equipped with six equidistantly spaced peripheral pockets 31. Each of the pockets is defined in part by three cross bearings 38 in which are mounted shafts 39- carrying supporting rollers 40 at the ends thereof which project beyond the bearings 38. The six rollers associated with each pocket are so related that they will engage the peripheral surface of the cans or containers 4! between the outwardly turned end flanges 42 thereof.

It will be apparent by reference to Figures 1, 2. and 3 of the drawings that theturret rotates' within a spray confining housing 43, said housing being supported, as at 44, on the base structure and also upon the extended end of the housin bearing extension portion 3|. The housing is provided with a container receiving opening 45 at the top thereof and a container discharging opening 46 slightly more than one staton beyond the lowermost 0r spraying station. See Figures 1 r and '7. The whole front face of the housing 43 is open so that free access may be had to the interior thereof, and this face opening is normally closed by a face plate or door 41 which is hingedly supported'on the housing proper, as at 48, and is normally secured in its closed position by a latch equipment 49.

The casing or housing 43 also includes a spray nozzle movement accommodating opening 50 in the rear face thereof in alignment with the turret pocket positioned at the lowermost or spraying station, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 3, and the face late or cover 41 also includes an opening which registers with the spraying station and which is normally closed by a hinged closure 5!.

The casing or housing 43 also includes a drain opening 52 at the bottom thereof, directly beneath the spraying station, and this opening may deliver into a collector 53, and a suitable vapor draw-off duct or outlet 54 may be provided in said collector in the manner clearly illustrated in Figure 3.

Containers to be spray coated internally within the machinecare fed vertically downwardly into the machine from the feed line 55 through upstanding guide standards in the manner clearly illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings; the single standard 55 being provided at one side, and two spaced standards 51 being provided at the opposite side. The standard 56 is laterallyadjustably mounted upon the housin as at 58, and the standards 51 are adiustably mounted, as at 59, so that the spacing between the standards 51, and also the spacing between thepair of standards 51 and the single standard 58, can be varied to accommodate the-feeding of containers of different sizes.

A timing screw 60 is rotatably supported "in vertical position in the standard 55 and serves to control or time the delivery of the individual containers into the individual turret pockets. The screw is driven through a bevel gear couple Si to which rotation is imparted through sprocket and chain connections 62 which are in turn driven through meshing spur gears 63 and the sprocket and chain connections 84 from the cam shaft I.

The spaced standards 51 serve to support a rock shaft 65 to which is afiixed a guide 66 which opposes the timing screw 50 in spaced relation and is yieldably urged toward the screw by the weighted arm 61 in a manner well known in the art. 2

At its discharge opening 46 the casing or housing 43 is equipped with a pair'of sprayed container supporting rails 58 which are mounted in adjustably spaced relation, as at 63, on brackets 10 secured to the housing. The brackets 10 also support side or end guides ll. Stripper guides 12 which merge into upper guide rails 13 also are lateraily-adiustably supported, as at 14, on brackets 15, and these serve to. strip sprayed containers from the turret pockets as they are moved past the discharge opening 46 and to guide movement of the containers over the supporting rails 68. See Figures 1 and '7.

It will be observed by reference to Figures 1 and 3 of the drawings that while the containers are positioned in the turret pockets in passing from the receiving opening 45 to the discharge opening 46,-they are guided and held in said pockets by guide rails I6 secured to housing lugs 11,

As has been previously stated, the spraying of the containers interiorly takes place at the 'botdriving disk I8 which preferably is formed of the manner clearly illustrated in Figures 1, 4

and 5 of the drawings,and it will be observed that the free end of the arm is disposed between an underlying adjustable stop 88 and an overlying compression spring 8I. The stop and spring are carried by a bracket 88 which is secured to the housing structure 8.

In order to provide a suitable drive for the container rotating disk I8, a driver gear 08 is mounted on the shaft extending from the sleeve 82, and this gear drives an idler gear 80 which is supported on one of the arms 8| and meshes with an imparts rotation to the gear 8| fixed to the driving disk carrying shaft-I8. A pulley 82 is secured to rotate with the driver gear 88 and has rotation imparted thereto by a .belt and pulley connection 93 with the driver shaft 24. See Figures 1, 4 and 5. of the drawings.

A spray gun 94 is reciprocable through the casing or housing opening 50 in the position best illustrated in Figures 3, 4 and 6 of the drawings. This spray gun may take the form of the gun shown in the co-pending Pearson application, Serial No. 225,040, flled August 15, 1938, which has been referred to hereinbefore, or any other approved form can be used. This gun may also be supplied and controlled in the manner illustrated in said co-pending application and for this reason it is thought to be unnecessary to dwell in detail herein upon the specific form of the spray gun, the supply lines leading thereto, or the specific form of the valve by which the operation I will be observed that in this position the spray nozzle end 95 of the gun is projected a short distance into the casing but will be clear of the path of travel of the containers 4| being indexed station-by-station on the turret. The spray gun is vertically-adjustably mounted, as at 86, on a bracket 91 which depends from a slide 88. The slide 98 is slidable horizontally toward and from the housing opening 50 in a suitable guide structure 08 secured to the housing 8 in the manner clearly illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings. The slide is link-connected, as at I00, to the lower end of a long actuator arm |0I which is pivotally supported, as at I02, at its upper end on the housing 6. Another, short actuator arm I03 is provided and is pivotally supported at its upper end, as at I04, on the housing 6. The arm 103 is disposed in generally parallel relation to the arm MI and is connected to the arm IOI by a thrust link I05. The link I85 is connected to the arm MI by a fixed pivot, but the connection of this link with the actuator arm I08 is by an adjustable pivot connection I08, and is best illusand will be transmitted to the slide 98 in the form of straight line, reciprocatory movement. By adjusting the position of the pivotal connection I 06, the length of the stroke imparted to the slide 98 and the spray 21m 84 sup thereon can be varied according to the size of containers being spray coated.

The driving disk I8 rotates within a confining and protection :boot I08 suspended from the guide rails 18 in the manner clearly illustrated in Figure 3, and by reason of the provision of this boot, the disk is-protected from spray contact, and all danger oi. the disk becoming hardened by coatlng accumulation is avoided.

It will also be apparent by reference to Figures 1, 3 and 4 01' the drawings that the spring equipment 81 yieldably holds the arm 88 downwardly,

and the driving disk I8 is thus yieldably projected against the containers which are moved into contact with the constantly rotating disk at the spraying station. By thus yieldably pressing the I driving disk against the containers supported by the pocket rollers 40, eflicient driving of the containers is provided for regardless of whether they are perfectly round or include slightly out of form or flattened portions.

As in the co-pending Pearson application hereinbefore referred to, the timing and duration of the spray is controlled by a valve I08 and the adjustable cam structure I! hereinbefore referred to. Since this valve structure is disclosed in detail in the co-pending Pearson application, the details of construction thereof will not be dwelt upon herein. The line supplying atomizlng air to the valve is indicated at H0 and the line for directing this air from the valve to the gun is indicated at-Il I. The line for supplying needle valve actuating air to the valve is indicated at H2, and the line for directing this air to the gun, and for at theproper time exhausting the gun under control of the valve, is indicated at H3. The tappet valves within the valve structure are suitably actuated by the tappet lever 4 which is pivoted, as at H5, on the valve casing and equipped with a roller 8 for engaging the control cam structure I5.

A no container no spray control means is provided and includes alatch arm ||1 having a latch member 8 yieldably mounted thereon, as at H9, in position for'en'gaging with a latch I28 projecting from the tappet lever H4.v The-pivotally mounted latch arm H1 is connected by a thrust link I2| with the free end of the arm 88 projecting from the driving disk mounting. See Figures 1 and 6.

Whenever the driving disk I8: is displaced downwardly :by contact with a container presented at the spraying station as illustrated in Figure 3, thefree end of the arm 85 will be displaced upwardly away from the stop 88 against the action of the spring 81, and this upward displacement of the arm end will act through the thrust link l2| to lift the latch arm I" and displace the latch II8 out of the path of movement of the latch I20 on the tappetlever |I4, thus permitting normal operation of the tappet lever 4 by the control equipment I5. Whenever no container is presented at the spraying station, however, the driving disk I8 and thearm 85 will not be so displaced and the latch I I8 will project into the path can take place when no container is be sprayed at the spraying station.

In operation, the open ended containers to be sprayed are lowered one-by-one in properly timed ith??? and spaced relation'soas to be received in the turret pockets in the-manner clearlyillustrated.-

in Figure 1.' As'the indexing of the-turret-proceeds, the containers will be individually pro- 'sented at the spraying station at the bottom of the casing.

Each time a container is presented at the spraying station, it engages and slightly displaces the driving disk 18 and is rapidly rotated thereby. While the turret is at rest, and with a container to be sprayed rapidly rotating at the spraying station, the arms 10! and H13 will be swung by the cam 9 to reciprocate the slide 98 and cause the spraying nozzle end 95 of the spray gun tobe projected into or through the container and thenagain retracted to the normal position illustrated in Figure 3. By proper adjustment of the cam plates H of the control cam structure E5, the actual spraying interval can be made occur during any desired portion of the nozzle reciprocation.

As the indexing of the turret is continued, each sprayed container will be ejected by the stripper guides 12 and stripped from the turret pockets and caused to be discharged through the casing opening Q6 and between the discharging guides 68, H and 13.

It is of course to be understood that the details of structure and arrangement of parts may be variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In container body spraying apparatus, a turret rotatable about a horizontal axis and having peripheral pockets therein for receiving individual container bodies, means for rotating the turret step-by-step, a housing encasing the turret for completely confining the spray and having a restricted opening therein aligned with the bottomr'nost stop station of the turret, means for feeding container bodies to the pockets at an upper portion of the housing, a spray nozzle having a spray head constantly maintained within the housing and being reciprooable in said opening into and out of container bodies forspraying them internally, and means iorreciprocating said spray head. g I I 2. In container body spraying apparatus, a turret rotatable about a horizontal axis and having peripheral pockets thereinior receiving individual container bodies, means for rotating the turret step-by-step, a housing encasing the turret for completely confining the spray and having an opening therein aligned with a stop station of the turret, means for feeding container bodies to the pockets, a spray head reciprocable through said opening into and out of container bodies for spraying them internally, means for reciprocating said spray head, and a yieldably mounted continuously rotating driver disk engaged by each container at the spraying station and eflective to impart rotation to the container bodies as they are being sprayed.

3. In container body spraying apparatus, a turret rotatable about a horizontal axis and having peripheral pockets therein for receiving individual container bodies, means for rotating the turret step-by-step, a housing encasing the turret for completely confining the spray and having an opening therein aligned with the bottommost stop station of the turret, means for feeding container bodies to the pockets at an upper portion of the housing, a spray head reciprocable through said opening into and out of container bodies for raying them internally, means for reciprocating d-. spray head, and a yieldably mounted continuously rotating tdriver disk engaged by each container at the sprayingstation and effective to impart rotation to the container bodies as they are being sp ay 4. In container body spraying apparatus, a turret rotatable about a horizontal axis and having peripheral pockets therein for receiving individual container bodies, means for rotating the turret step-by-step, a housing encasing the turret for completely confining the spray and having an opening therein aligned with the bottommost stop station of the turret, means for feeding container bodies to the pockets at an upper portion of the housing, a spray head reciprocable through said opening into and out of container bodies for spraying them internally, means for reciprocating said spray head, a yieldably mounted continuously rotating driver disk engaged by each container at the spraying station and effective to impart rotation to the container bodies as they are being sprayed, guide rails confining container bodies in the turret pockets while moving to the spraying station, and a protecting boot at least partially surrounding the disk and supported by said rail.

5. In a container body spraying apparatus, a turret having peripheral pockets therein in which to rotatably support container bodies to be sprayed, a spraying station, means at the spraying station for interiorly spray-coating containspraying station for imparting rotation thereto,

and spraying means operation controlling devices controlled by the position of the disk, that is whether the disk is in or out of engagement with a container to be sprayed, so as to prevent actuation of the spraying means when nocontainer is present to be sprayed;

6, In a container body spraying apparatus, a I

turret'having"peripheral pockets therein in which to rotatabl'y upport container bodies to ,be

sprayed, a spraying station, means at the spraying station for interiorly spraycoating containers, me'ansfor indexing the turret to individually present containers at said station, a rotary disk engageable with containers presented at the spraying station for imparting rotation thereto, means yieldably'supporting said'disk for displacement by contact with a container moving into the spraying station, spraying means operation controlling devices, and means rendering said devices inefiective except when said supporting means is displaced by container contact,

7. In a container body spraying apparatus, a turret having peripheral pockets therein in which to rotatably support container bodies to be sprayed, a spraying station, means at the spraying station for interiorly spray-coating containers, means for indexing the turret to individually present containers at said station, a rotary disk engageable with containers presented at the spraying station for imparting rotation thereto, means yieldably supporting said disk for displacement by contactwith a container moving into the spraying station, spraying means operation controlling devices including an actuator cam, a

spray controlling valve and a valve actuator cperassay/v eflective and permitting the valve actuator to be operated by said cam.

8. In a container body spraying apparatus, a turret having peripheral pockets therein in which to rotatably support container bodies to be sprayed, a spraying station, means at the spraying station for interiorly spray-coating containera, means for indexing the turret to individually present containers at said station, a rotary disk engageable with containers presented at the spraying station for imparting rotation thereto, a lever arm structure whereon said disk is rotatably supported, means pivotally mounting said 9. In a container body spraying apparatus, a-

turret having peripheral pockets therein in which to rotatably. support container bodies to be sprayed, a spraying station, means at the spraying station for interlorly spray-coating containers, means for indexing theturret to individually present containers at said station, a rotary disk engageable with. containers presented at the spraying station for imparting rotation thereto, a lever arm structure whereon said disk is rotatably supported, means pivot-ally mounting said lever arm structure, spring means constantly urging the lever arm structure toward the turret to place the disk in position for engaging and being displaced slightly by a container moving into the spraying station, adjustable means for limithis movement of said lever arm structure toward the turret, spraying means operating devices. means operable by movement of said lever arm structure for preventing edective operation of said spraying means operating devices except when a container is being engaged and rotated by said disk, and means for imparting rotation to said dish, said last named means including a driven gear rotatable about the pivot center or the lever arm structure and connected in driving relation with said disk.

10. In container body spraying apparatus, a turret rotatable about a horizontal axis and how ing mripheral pockets therein for receiving in dividual container bodies, means for rotating the turret step-by-step, a housing encasing the turrot for completely confining the spray and havling an opening therein aligned with the bottommost stop station of the turret. means for feeding container bodies to the pockets at an'upper portion of the housing, a spray head reciprocabie through said opening into and out oicontainer bodies for spraying them internally, and mains ior reciprocating said spray head, said feeding means including a pair of guide standards eiztending upwardly from the housing in spaced relotion, means for adiustably mounting said standards on the housing so that their spaced relation can be varied, a single standard centrally op- ;l- 1 1i.

ably mounting and supporting the single stand the pair of standards, means for adiustard on the housing so that it can be moved toward or from the pair of standards, and a timing screw supported on said single standard.

11. In container body spraying apparatus, a turret rotatable about a horizontal axis and having peripheral pockets therein for receiving individual container bodies, means for rotating the turret step-by-step, a housing encasing the turret for completely confining the spray and having an opening therein aligned with the bottommost stop station of the turret, means for feeding container bodies to the pockets at an upper portion of the housing, a spray head reciprocable through said opening into and out oi container bodies for spraying them internally. and means for reciprocating said spray head, said feeding means including a pair of guide standards extending upwardly from the housing in spaced relation, means for housing so that their spaced relation can be varied, a single standard centrally opposing the pair of standards, means foradjustably mounting and supporting the single standard on-the housing so that it can be moved toward or from the pair of standards, a timing screw supported on said single standard, a shaft traversing and supported by the pair of standards, and a guide wall yieldably opposing the timing screw and swingably mounted on said shaft.

12. In a container body spraying apparatus, a turret having peripheral pockets therein in which to rotatably support container bodies to be sprayed, a spraying station, means for indexing the turret to individually present containers at said station, means for imparting rotation to container bodies presented at said station, a spraying nozzle, and means for reciprocating said nozzle into and out oi container bodies at said station for interior-1y coating them, said last named means comprising a slide on whichsaid nozzle is carried, means guiding movement or the slide, a motor, and adjustable lever and link connections between the motor and the slide for imparting variable stroire movements to said slide.

13. in a container body spraying apparatus, a turret having peripheral pockets therein in which to rotatably support container bodies to be sprayed, a spraying station, means for indexing the turret to individually presentcontainers at said station, means for imparting rotation to container bodies presented at said station, a spraying nozzle, and means for reciprocating said nozzle into and out of container bodies at said station for lnteriorly coating them, said last named means comprising a slide on which said nozzle is carried, means guiding movement of the slide, a thrust link, a swingablo actuator arm,

means adjustably connecting the link to the actuator am so that a selected amount of throw can be imparted to the link by the swinging arm, means connecting the link with the slide, and means for swinging the actuator arm.

M. A spraying apparatus structure assdeiined in claim 13, in which the means for swinging the actuator arm comprises a rotary cam having a generally heart-shaped groove therein and a roller projecting from the actuator arm and engaging in said groove, said groove also including a concentric dwell portion for holding the spraying nozzle for an interval in the retracted position during each indexing movement of the turret.

adiustably mounting said smndards on the 

